


Judgment

by secooper87



Series: The Child of Balime [3]
Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Doctor Who & Related Fandoms, Torchwood
Genre: Action/Adventure, Humor, Jack being Jack, Mystery
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-04-16
Updated: 2013-04-18
Packaged: 2017-12-08 15:55:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,122
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/763214
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/secooper87/pseuds/secooper87
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's all about trust, as Torchwood struggles to face down a villain from Buffy's past, and Seo and Ianto must deal with their past mistakes.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> If you're a new reader, then welcome! If you're an old reader, welcome back!
> 
> For the new readers: you'll learn more about Seo, later. Don't worry. This is actually story 2 in my new series, _The Child of Balime_ , I just happen to really like it, so I'm posting it first.
> 
> You do not have to read Happy Endings or Adventures of A Line Hopper to understand this story. I don't think. But it may help you to know that Seo was once locked up and tortured by Hartman in Torchwood London, before Buffy rescued her.
> 
> (And yeah, I know, the "Torchwood Kitchens" is a place I made up. But I liked it.)
> 
> For the old readers: Hope you enjoy this new series! Keep reading!

The scientist could hear screams still echoing through the complex. Still hear the cruel, malicious laughter echoing in from the room over. He grabbed at a door, jerked it open, and tried to lock himself inside.

The door bucked. Then was smashed in.

"No," said the scientist. He stepped back. "No, please."

"Yes," said the monster. "I will."

The scientist screamed, as the monster grabbed out at him. As the pain ripped through his body, and he couldn't move, couldn't even breathe anymore.

"But… but Saxon said… you would bring…" the scientist said.

Then, with one last writhe, one more lash out from the monster before him, one last scream from the victim — the scientist died.

"Saxon," the monster repeated. He stepped back, thinking this through. Then shook his head. "No, that's not who I want. Not… Saxon."

He looked down at the remains of the scientist he'd just killed.

"Summers," he said. "I want… Summers."

He turned, marching back into the heart of the compound.

"And she will come," the monster said. "Oh, yes. She _will_ come."

* * *

"I told you a thousand times, the answer is no," Buffy's voice echoed across the Plass, as she and Seo arrived into view. She had Seo's hand in hers, emitting a stern-parent kind of air, as she marched forward. "My answer isn't going to change just because you ask on a different day."

"But I know I can control it!" Seo insisted. "You saw, in Cleveland, how—"

"Answer's still no," Buffy cut in, eyes flicking down towards Seo's eager face. "And if you think Jack's going to let you anywhere near the manipulator, you've got another thing coming."

Jack gave a small grin, hands in his pockets, as they approached.

"But… why not?" Seo asked.

Buffy sighed. "As a former resident of Sunnydale, I'm not even going to dignify that with an answer."

"What's the mischief this time?" Jack asked them, a twinkle in his eyes.

Seo tugged her hand out of Buffy's, and gave Jack an innocent, wide-eyed expression. "I'm not trying to do anything bad," she said, hands clasped behind her back. "I just want… to… experiment. With some stuff."

"She wants to get access to the rift manipulator and open the Cardiff Rift," Buffy said.

Jack exchanged a look with Buffy.

"No, that's not what I said!" said Seo, putting her hands on her hips. "It's not as bad as that. I said I wanted to use the rift manipulator to _experiment_ with opening the Cardiff Rift."

Jack gave Seo a small grin. "Not going to happen. Sorry."

Seo turned large, hurt brown eyes on him. "Why not?"

"If I told you all the many reasons it's a terrible idea, we'd be here all day," said Jack. He crossed his arms. "Better question. Why would you actually think it was a _good_ idea?"

Seo beamed at him. "I want to see if I can close it!"

Buffy sighed, and shook her head. This was clearly a discussion they'd had many times before.

"No, really," insisted Seo. "I know you all think I was created to destroy the universe, but… I'm not. I know I'm not! If I can destroy things, I should be able to put them back together, again, too. Unlock and re-lock things. I just need to experiment. Figure out how to do it on my own."

"No," said Buffy.

"But what if, one day, the rift goes completely wonky," Seo insisted, "and you need someone to repair it! Then you'll think back and say, 'If only we'd let Seo experiment with the rift and the rift manipulator, then maybe we could fix all this, but, oh, no, we didn't, and now the world's falling apart and—'"

"Or," Buffy cut in, "you could just not mess with it in the first place. Avoid any serious wonkiness. And everyone stays alive and happy."

Seo looked over at Jack.

"I'm with her," Jack said, nodding at Buffy. "Don't mess with the rift."

Seo pouted at him. "Please! Pretty please!"

Buffy turned on Seo, crossing her arms, eyes fixed on her daughter. "Seo," she warned. "I swear — if you open any space-time rift, anywhere, you're going to be grounded for the next three hundred years."

Seo thought this over, a frown creasing her face. "You said two hundred."

"Two hundred is for accidentally destroying the world," Buffy said. "Three hundred is for opening rifts."

"Five hundred," Jack chimed in, "if you destroy the world by opening the rift."

Buffy shot him a thankful smile, before turning her disciplining eye back on Seo.

Seo fidgeted in place. Biting her lower lip, as she thought it over. Then, with a sigh and a slump of her shoulders, she nodded.

Jack put an arm around her. "Come on, kid," he said, leading her to the invisible lift. "I got something I think you'll like."

* * *

She cried out, her face lighting up in sudden and complete glee, and in one bound, she leapt off the invisible lift before it even made it all the way down to the ground.

"A pterodactyl!" Seo said, her eyes fixed on the ceiling.

It circled the Hub, making dinosaur screeching noises, its scaly wings flapping across the surface of the water in the fountain, as it rounded the corner.

"Myfanwy," Jack told her.

Seo raced forwards, not even bothering to glance at the rift manipulator, as she climbed up on the edge of the fountain, leaping into the air and trying to get a better look at the dinosaur.

Buffy turned to Jack. "Thanks for this," she muttered.

Jack grinned at her. "That's why they pay me the big bucks."

"No, I mean not just the… distraction," said Buffy. Although that was clearly a relief to her, in and of itself. "Just… for all of it. Calling me in more often. Giving me more assignments. You know."

Jack nodded, slowly. He knew. Knew about the money troubles, the added expense of raising a kid. And having a kid with seriously destructive tendencies, like Seo, didn't help matters, any.

"Seo blow up your flat, yet?" Jack asked.

"Nearly," Buffy said. Sighed. "She always fixes everything she destroys, but… with the sheer volume of things she destroys…" She shrugged. "Cash deficit."

Jack's eyes rested on Seo, who was now trying to call out to the pterodactyl, using every alien language she knew. Then he flicked his eyes back to Buffy.

"My offer still stands," he reminded her. "Move here. Work for Torchwood, full time. No more money problems, ever again."

Buffy gave a small laugh. "You're asking me to move Seo _closer_ to the Cardiff Rift?"

Jack stuffed his hands back into the pockets of his military greatcoat. On second thought… not the best idea.

"It's fine," said Buffy. "London needs me, anyways, with no Hartman around. And Giles is there, which is major on the help-out factor."

"He's working for the Ministry of Defense, now, isn't he?" asked Jack, stepping off the lift as it came to rest on the ground of the Hub.

Buffy rolled her eyes. "Yes, he is."

Seo laughed in delight, as she finally managed to get the pterodactyl to land on her arm. She pet it, fondly, making soft cooing sounds. Then leaned her head down to listen to its jabber, trying to pick up the language. Testing out phrases for herself.

"What, you don't speak pterodactyl?" Jack called to her, as he and Buffy crossed the Hub.

Seo made a face. "Not the Tythonian dialect."

"Pterodactyls have dialects," Owen deadpanned, from over by the computers. "Course they do." Then sighed, pushed his chair out, and decided he'd had enough of hanging around here babysitting a 98-year-old. Turned, and walked out of the Hub. "Getting some coffee."

Jack's smile grew, as he turned back to Buffy. "Speaking of which, I've got a surprise for _you_ , too." He raced up the stairs, and called out, "Yan!"

A youngish man in a smart black business suit, with blue eyes and a respectful air about him, stepped out into the Torchwood Hub. Cup of coffee in hand.

"Sir?" he asked. Offered Jack the coffee.

Jack shook his head, gesturing at Buffy, and the man, taking the hint, offered it to Buffy, instead.

Buffy held out her hand in polite refusal. "No, really, I'm not—"

"Try it," said Jack.

Buffy sighed. Took the coffee, gave it a sip. And balked.

"It's… good!" she cried. Her eyes staring down at the cup in her hands. "Like… not just good-for-Torchwood good. Good-for-coffee good!" She jerked her head up, to regard the brand new miracle worker that Jack had had the divine insight to hire. "Who are you, and when can I marry you?"

Jack winked at the man.

The man fidgeted in place, a little awkwardly. "Ianto," he said to Buffy, offering a hand. "Ianto Jones."

"Buffy Summers," said Buffy, shaking it. "Freelance honorary Torchwood whatever person." She glanced over her shoulder, at Seo, still petting the pterodactyl. "And she's Seo."

Seo looked up, just as Ianto looked over at her.

For a moment, across the Hub, they froze. Both meeting one another's eyes.

All traces of happiness dropped away from Seo in an instant, as her eyes went wide. She stumbled backwards, the pterodactyl screeching and lifting back into the air. Seo didn't even notice, just backed up against the wall of the Hub, going very still, her eyes never straying from Ianto.

"But that's…" Ianto began, stepping forward, a little hesitantly.

Seo spun around, and fled the Hub area, fast as she could.

Ianto stopped. Cringed.

"Oh," Jack muttered. "I should have thought of that."

Buffy opened her mouth to ask what was going on, but Ianto stepped back, with an apologetic look at Buffy and Jack.

"I… think I better go," he said. Then turned and retreated back to the Torchwood kitchens.

Buffy turned an eye on Jack. Crossing her arms. Demanding an explanation.

Jack's eyes shifted between Buffy, Ianto's retreating form, and the place where Seo'd run off. Trying to decide which problem to deal with first. Then he sighed. "Yan's from Torchwood One," he explained to Buffy.

Buffy's eyes went wide. "Oh."

Jack glanced over at the computer area. "Tosh!" he called, gesturing at her. "Catch Buffy up on our fortress power fluctuation problem." He turned back to Buffy. "I'll sort this all out."

Buffy looked like she'd much rather sort it out for herself, but… gave in. Knowing that the Slayer-Powered-Angry-Mom Buffy was probably not the best way to welcome Ianto to Torchwood Cardiff.

She turned to Tosh.

"So," she said, as Jack headed off. "Fortress power fluctuation?"


	2. Chapter 2

"Oh, don't worry," muttered Suzie, not looking up from her work on the resurrection glove. "We already know all about Seo's being insanely dangerous."

Ianto shifted in place. "I… see."

"She's an alien brat," Suzie continued, picking up the glove from where she had it harnessed, and studying her work on it, more closely. "And annoying as all hell. She'd tear apart the world just to see how it worked." She nodded at her handiwork on the glove, in approval, then put it down and jotted down some notes about it. "Mark my words, one of these days, she's gonna go mad and start killing everyone."

Owen snickered. "Still upset about the glove?"

Suzie grumbled under her breath. She'd only just managed to repair the damage that Seo had done, last time Buffy had brought her here. Done _purposely_ — to Suzie's pet project! Just because, according to Seo, bringing people back from the dead for two minutes and then letting them die, again, was 'cruel' and 'disgusting'.

"What I use at Torchwood is my business," Suzie muttered. "No need for little miss smart ass to get involved."

Ianto's eyes fell on Owen, a deep frown on his face.

"She's not as bad as Suzie says," said Owen, with a shrug. "I mean, yeah, there's a 50% chance that, one of these days, she'll accidentally blow up the world, but for the most part… Buffy keeps her pretty under control."

"Seo… was the one who…" said Ianto. His voice began to flood with a series of dark emotions, which he tried his best to smother. He swallowed. "It was _her_. With the Sphere. I recognize her."

Suzie glanced up at him, brow furrowed.

"What happened, at Canary Wharf," said Ianto. "The Cybermen. The Daleks. _She_ caused it."

Suzie and Owen exchanged a look. Letting this sink in.

Then they just shrugged, and went back to what they were doing before.

"Yeah, I could definitely see that," said Owen, leaving the kitchen and heading back to the medical lab. "That's Seo all over."

"Seo," Suzie agreed. "She can't muck something up without mucking it up big."

* * *

Jack walked over to the figure huddled in the corner of the concrete hall leading to the Tourist Information Office front of Torchwood. Her head was down, resting against her knees, her blond hair spread across the blue denim of her jeans.

"You recognize him, huh?" Jack asked.

She looked up, and he was a little surprised to see she wasn't crying. Stubbornly trying to act brave, despite all the circumstances. Despite memories of pain and torture. She still didn't look at Jack, her eyes fixed intently on the far wall of the corridor.

She nodded.

Jack hesitated. "Did he…?"

"No," Seo said. Her eyes flicked back to Jack. Large, brown eyes. "He didn't touch me. Didn't have anything to do with me. I only saw him… in passing. Once or twice. He was… with Lisa." Seo swallowed, hard, trying to keep all emotion from her voice. "We never even spoke."

Well, that was a relief. If he'd been one of the people who'd actually hurt Seo, Jack would probably have had to fire him. Cutie or not — human decency was human decency.

"Give him a chance," Jack said. "He's Torchwood Cardiff, now. My team. My responsibility."

"If it's alien," said Seo, her voice flat, lifeless, barely above a whisper, "it's ours."

Jack shook his head. "Not anymore. That Torchwood's gone, now." He grinned. "And, anyways, your mom always told me that if _my_ Torchwood had a motto, it'd be more like, 'Torchwood Cardiff: All the alien invasions with 95 percent more sexual intrigue!'"

No reaction from Seo. She just sat there, thinking it all through, carefully. Then looked up at Jack. "I think he's going to shoot me."

Jack stared at her. That hadn't been the impression he'd gotten from Ianto, at all. "He… what?"

"Or wants to," said Seo. "Really wants to. He's so… desperately sad." She tilted her head to the side, frowning. "Do you think I'll still be blond in my next life?"

Jack could hear the slight tremble across every word she spoke.

"If it makes you feel better," Jack told her, "I'll keep you two apart for a little while. Just until you can get used to each other. But, really…" He shrugged. "Give Yan a chance. He's a good guy, inside. And he _was_ the one who caught Myfanwy."

A spark appeared in Seo's eyes. A shy smile touching her lips. "I like Myfanwy."

"There, see?" said Jack. He leaned over, and helped her back to her feet. "That's how it starts. First you like Myfanwy. Then you like coffee. Then, next thing you know, you'll like Ianto."

* * *

"So, basically, there's this Fortress," Buffy explained to Seo, when she turned up. "Super crazy defenses. Run by human people. And at about three this morning, it started being all with the mega power fluctuations."

"We need evidence against them," said Tosh. "We think they're up to something with alien tech, but we can't get legal permission to go in there."

"Which is where they want you to come in," said Buffy.

Seo nodded, slowly.

"See, all the defense systems around this Fortress are automated," Tosh explained. "Computerized. Which means… if someone sneaks in… someone who doesn't show up on camera or trip any sensors…"

"Someone like me," said Seo.

"You can figure out what's going on in there," Tosh agreed. "Get some evidence for us. Then get out."

Buffy crossed her arms. "I'm not sure this is a good idea, personally."

Seo stared at the image of the fortress on the computers. Then she beamed. "I think it's brilliant!"

Buffy sighed. She should have known. Of course Seo would do it. Here was a mystery, a challenge, and a puzzle all wrapped up in one. Whatever was in that fortress, Seo wanted to find it.

And she wouldn't let something like a lock or a bunch of guns get in her way.

"In that case," said Buffy, "I demand to have the entire Torchwood team on standby, just in case you get into trouble."

Seo glanced over at Buffy. Smile tumbling off her face. A hint of fear in her eyes. "Even… Ianto?"

"Just talked to Yan," said Jack, entering the Hub area. "He says he's happy to keep his distance until you feel comfortable." A wink at Buffy, then a grin at Seo. "You up for this, kid?"

Seo beamed, a hint of mischief in her eyes. "Oh, yes!"

* * *

Buffy knew that Seo was perfectly able to take care of herself. When she wasn't going all martyry and suicidal — which, for some reason, she really hadn't, recently. Not at all.

Almost like… she was purposely keeping herself alive… to protect someone…

Whatever.

As long as Seo was all with the wanting-to-stay-alive, Buffy knew she'd be fine. Cleverness, resourcefulness, and the ability to turn a situation to her advantage wasn't usually her problem. No, if Seo had a problem, these days, it was usually more along the lines that, to take down a monster, she was about to do something clever that would accidentally take the rest of the universe down with it.

That didn't stop Buffy from worrying.

"Look," said Tosh, bringing up the surveillance footage on the screens in the Torchwood van. The surveillance from the hidden camera they'd wired Seo up with. "See? That's what Seo's seeing, right now. We can track her movements completely."

Buffy bit her lower lip, and nodded.

Seo had scaled the wall, and it now looked like Seo was wandering through a courtyard full of non-shooting gun turrets. She kept stealing glances at the gun turrets, worried they'd start shooting randomly.

"And we're in radio contact with her, too," Jack pointed out. He touched his earpiece. "You all right, there?"

"Shhhh!" was the soft but stern reply.

Jack muted his earpiece, and grinned at Buffy. "She's fine."

"She'll be bloody marvelous," Owen grumbled. "She always comes out of this stuff intact. Only question is if the rest of Cardiff will still be in one piece when she's done."

Seo entered the building. She went through a few halls, occasionally opening doors nearby, peering through gloom and darkness.

"There's no one here," said Seo, very softly. Almost breathing the words.

"Well, that makes this a great big waste of time," Suzie said. "Bring in an infiltration expert, and there's nothing that needs bloody infiltrating!"

"No," said Seo, shaking her head. "I mean… you can smell death in the air. You can feel the psychic traces of terror and panic still clinging to the walls." She stopped by a busted in door. "See the effects of a violent monster attack. But…" She stepped away, eyes skimming the floor, as she continued forwards. "No bodies. No blood. No hint of any people at all."

Everyone in the van went silent.

Processing what this meant.

"Maybe… vaporization?" Tosh suggested. "A… molecular dispersal beam, or…?"

"Seo, are the hairs on the back of your hands standing up?" Jack asked her.

Seo shook her head.

Jack turned to Tosh. "Not molecular dispersal, then."

The Seo-cam then shifted, as Seo bent down on the ground, her hand grabbing up some dust from the floor. Except… no, wait, it wasn't dust. It was…

"Ash," Seo whispered.

Buffy felt a horrible feeling crawl over her. A terrible feeling, like… she should know this.

The Seo-cam turned, examining an object nestled in the shadows. A wooden object, taller than Seo was, herself. She advanced towards it, her hand outstretched, touching the wood beneath her fingertips.

"The wood's still warm," she noted. "But the room's cold. Whatever this does, it expelled a huge amount of energy doing it."

The camera adjusted, finally able to make out the shape of the wooden object in the shadows. A giant man-shaped, blocky-looking wooden figure, hollow, with large wooden slats on the outside, forming criss-crossed patterns.

Buffy's heart stopped, as she recognized it.

"No," Buffy breathed. Her eyes went wide. "No, it can't be. That's not… he couldn't have been…" Then a heavy thud came from outside, the sound reverberating through Buffy, and she shook away her shock, trying to get her mind to start working, again.

"What?" asked Suzie.

Buffy grabbed at the communication device on her ear. "Seo," she said. "Get out of there. Right now."

Seo dropped her hand from the wooden container. "Why? Is it…?"

Then the feed from Seo cut out, entirely. And there was nothing but static in their earphones.

"Seo?" Buffy called. "Seo!"

The van shook, suddenly. Violently.

And a maniacal laugh echoed through the windows and doors. A maniacal laugh, and two words — said with such spite and malice, they seemed the darkest of threats.

"Buffy Summers."

Jack swore.

They all looked out the window, to discover a giant blue-skinned monster yanking the Torchwood van up, in midair, in his hands. With one last cruel laugh, he launched the van through the air, so it soared over the wall, and down into the courtyard.

"Brace yourselves!" shouted Jack.

The van crashed to the ground, airbags blowing up in their faces, as the van rolled from side to side. Buffy smashed the window above her, and started pulling the other Torchwood members up and out of the car, before the engine could ignite.

That was when the gun turrets began going off.

Buffy ducked behind the roof of the car, shielding herself, Tosh, and Suzie from the bullets. Then kicked out the front window, to pull out Jack and Owen.

From nearby, Buffy could hear the malicious voice, once again, calling, "Buffy Summers!"

"You have some idea who this is?" Jack guessed.

"The Judge," Buffy told him. "A demon I met back in high school. Sent to Earth to purge the world of righteousness. He burns all the empathy and goodness out of people until there's nothing left." She sighed. "And he's mega pissed at me because the last time I met him, I blew him up with a rocket launcher."

Owen looked a little envious. "Went to the wrong bloody school," he said. "Never used rocket launchers where I grew up."

Jack pulled out his gun, leveling it at the oncoming Judge.

Buffy grabbed him by the arm. "Yeah, that's not going to work!" she said. Then paused, a small smile crawling across her face. "Although…"

Jack glanced back at her, and she grabbed up his arms, adjusting his gun so it was aimed at the gun turrets.

"Aim for the wires connecting them to the computers in the complex," Buffy said.

Jack took the shot.

The gun turret fizzled, and stopped firing.

From Buffy's other side, the other Torchwood agents had all taken out guns, leveling them at the other gun turrets. One by one, the gun turrets fizzled, then died.

Buffy grabbed them by the hand, jumping to her feet, as the blue skinned Judge advanced towards them. Vengeance and death in his eyes.

"Run!" Buffy shouted, racing forward into the complex.

They all did as they were told.


	3. Chapter 3

Seo frowned. Touching her earpiece. "Hello?"

Nothing.

Seo turned to the banks of computer equipment and surveillance monitors. She grabbed up a folder, entitled, "The Judge." Flipped through it, skimming the pages.

Vague accounts, seemed like. Very vague.

Oddly vague, actually.

Considering whoever sent this seemed to give the impression of knowing quite a lot more about this creature than he was letting on. And seemed to have made the description of who this was and what it did vague on purpose.

The Judge. A creature from an ancient time. Whose purpose was… to judge the righteous from the evil.

Immortal, but powerless when disassembled.

Seo flipped through the notes. Studying what had happened, since the initial information was gained. Looked like the scientists in this complex had gathered up the blown-up fragments of the Judge, from the last time it had been out in the world, and had been working on reassembling them. Something about… funding from someone else. An anonymous donor.

Seo lowered the folder. Thought.

So "the Judge" judged. But what happened after judgment was passed? Buffy — no, wait, Mom, she was supposed to call her Mom, now — had sounded scared of it, terrified that it would hurt Seo. So there was almost certainly something sinister behind it. Curious.

"Everyone makes judgments," Seo murmured, aloud. "Moment you meet anyone. Sometimes — those flash judgments are wrong."

The sounds of a crash, from outside, and the sudden firing of gun turrets rang through the air. Seo turned to the monitor footage, dropping the folder onto the ground and punching at buttons. She immediately took in what she saw — the gun turrets firing at the Torchwood van, Torchwood crowded behind it.

She scrambled to find the settings that would override the turrets. But they weren't here. No, these controls operated something else. Some sort of… automatic system. Seo tried to hack into it, but this… was stubborn. Very stubborn. Whoever had designed this didn't want anyone to get in.

Seo gritted her teeth, tried again. And was able to uncover just enough… to see what it was.

An energy barrier, astoundingly advanced. Surrounding the fortress, not allowing any humans to escape from its confines.

Which… didn't make sense. No, didn't make any sense at all. A barrier Seo thought too advanced to be human in origin, yet — this Judge, being from antiquity, wouldn't have been able to program it in. Maybe… Seo had gotten it wrong. Maybe there were a lot of humans out there as clever and technically minded as Tosh. Maybe…

Then Seo froze. As she saw.

That the barrier had been designed to cut in, specifically, when it sensed the presence, inside the fortress, of one particular set of DNA…

A set… that Seo recognized…

"I know you're here," snarled a voice, just outside the door. "I can feel your fear and horror pouring through the air." The doorknob turned, as Seo spun on her feet, realizing she was too late to hide, as she faced the now opening door. A creature stepped through it. "I'm going to destroy…"

The creature stopped in the doorway. Stared at Seo. First in confusion. Then in… fascination.

Seo, likewise, stared at the creature. A spark appeared in her eyes.

"You're blue!" she cried. Then beaming, with sudden excitement, continued, "Ooh! Does that mean you're a guy that lives in a blue world all day and all night and everything you see is just blue like you, inside and outside, blue your house with a blue little window and a blue corvette, because you're blue, dabadee dabadie, dabadee dabadie, dabadee dabadie?"

The blue creature ignored her ramble.

"What _are_ you?" he asked her.

Seo frowned. "Well, I'm _not_ blue," she said. "So I must just be 'dabadee dabadie.'"

"You have so much love," said the blue creature, striding towards her. Eyes fixed, steadily, on hers. "So much empathy. So much… compassion." He said the words as if they were somehow disgusting. Then, a smile curled onto his lips. "But beneath that. Far, far beneath that. There, you are a thing of beauty. A thing of death. The goddess unborn."

Seo froze. Staring at him. Then shook her head.

"I'm not Death," she told him. "Not anymore. Twilight got taken out of my head. I'm—"

"You are the darkness," said the blue creature, still advancing on her. "The terror. The nightmare. You are so human, so… empathetic… outside. Because at your core, you are nothing of the kind."

"And that's your judgment?" Seo asked, staying still against the console. She raised an eyebrow at him. "Mr. The Judge?"

The Judge nodded. Getting very close, now. "And my judgment is final. I will cleanse you, little girl. Under my grip, any compassion or righteousness in you will burn to ash, until you become…"

He reached down to grab her, but Seo spun out of the way at the last moment, and he simply crashed his fist down on the control panel, making it spark and fizzle.

Seo prayed that would be enough to destroy the outer barrier. Prayed that Mom and the others would manage to make it out of here, alive.

And ran for the door.

* * *

Ianto had just come up from visiting his own secret project stashed away in the basement of the Hub, when he heard the frantic call coming over the comms system.

"…anyone hear me?" the voice asked. "Anyone? Please?"

Sounded a little like the Buffy Summers he'd met earlier.

Ianto activated his own headset. "Ianto here."

A pause. Only the rasp of heavy breathing on the other end. The faint patter of footsteps.

And Ianto had the sudden, unnerving feeling… that this wasn't Buffy. That this… was the alien. This was the alien that had escaped from Torchwood London. The alien that had caused the Battle of Canary Wharf.

"Where… are the other…?" Ianto started.

He was cut off by a cry from the other end, and an increased heavy breathing. It sounded like… there was another voice, nearby. A voice that sounded cold, cruel, malicious.

Ianto went to the computer systems, called up the location of the headset he was speaking to. Sure enough, she was on the move. Running as fast as she could, looked like. Ianto called up the CCTV footage from that area, and saw…

"He's blue," said Ianto.

"And he wants to burn out all goodness inside of me!" said Seo.

"Ah." Ianto cleared his throat. "I… see."

Once again, the malicious voice echoing faintly across the speaker, too faint to make out, but just enough to send chills down Ianto's spine.

"I need… something," Seo told him. "Suzie's glove. The one I broke, last time. Meet me. You can track me with my headset. Bring the glove."

Ianto hesitated. "And… you… are…?"

"Going to let it chase me!" said Seo. "I'm trying to keep it away from people. Much as I can. Just… please. Please! Bring me that glove."

Ianto swallowed, hard. He didn't understand why she needed it. What she was planning. And… it scared him.

But he turned.

And went to find it.

* * *

Buffy was the person who heard it, first. The crackle of her headset, and then… coming in faintly… Seo's voice. Cutting in and out.

"It's her!" Buffy said. She put her hand up to her ear, activating her headset. "Seo! Where are you?"

But Seo didn't seem able to hear her. Not at all.

Was just breathing heavily, clearly running for her life, calling in desperation for someone to please, please help her.

"There must be some interference between us and wherever she is," Tosh hypothesized. "Something originating from this complex. Something that just activated. While she's outside the fortress and we're inside, we can hear her. Barely. But she can't hear us."

Buffy had a good idea who was chasing her daughter, though. Had a good idea of why she might be desperately running away. And spun on her heels, racing out of the complex.

There! Just ahead! The gate was open. She could get out!

Buffy surged ahead. And ran smack into an invisible barrier around the outside.

She stumbled. Caught herself.

"No," she said. She pounded her fists against the invisible barrier, but it didn't give. "Let me out!"

"That must be where the communications block is coming from," said Jack.

On the headset, Seo's voice came through. Faintly, but distinct. "What…?" Seo asked. Then, a scream from someone else, nearby, and a horrified gasp from Seo. "No…!"

Buffy spun to Tosh and the others.

"Control panel," Tosh proposed. "There… has to be! Something around here that I can hack to let us out!"

Jack turned on his heel, gestured for the others to follow him, as they all raced back into the complex. "Split up," he told them, kicking in doors at random. Looking through inside, armed and ready, just in case.

They all split up, every team member kicking in doors, looking through inside for any way they could get out of there, get to where Seo and the Judge were.

"Are… you still there?" Seo asked, now in a whisper. She sounded scared. Trying to catch her breath.

Hiding, Buffy thought.

Buffy kicked in another door.

"I'm here," said Ianto. A hint of hesitation. Then, "Are you…?"

"Did you find it?" asked Seo. "Did you…?"

"Still looking," said Ianto.

Seo swallowed. "The Judge… caught someone else," she said. "He… just… grabbed that poor man up… put a hand on his chest and…" An audible shudder ran through her. When she spoke again, her voice was even quieter. "He just burned away to nothing, Ianto. Burst apart into flames… and… charred…" Her every word shook.

Buffy's heart broke, anew.

"I… see," said Ianto.

"I can't get through to anyone else," said Seo. "Suzie. Owen. Tosh. My mom." She swallowed around the last word. "Ianto. What if that's… what happened… to Mom? What if he… burned her to…?"

Ianto cleared his throat. "I… don't know about the others. But I just… found the glove."

"The what?!" Suzie shouted, from not far away. She whirled around, her eyes blazing, her fists clenched. "Oh, that alien brat is _so_ dead!"

"Why is she asking for a bloody resurrection glove, anyways?" asked Owen. "The monster's already resurrected! That's the problem!" He glanced over his shoulder at Buffy. "You forget to teach her what the word 'resurrection' means?"

On the earpiece, a breath of relief from Seo. "I'm hiding," she said. "I'll try to stay alive until you can get here. Just… make it quick. I don't… know how long it'll be… before…"

"I'm on my way," said Ianto.

From not far away, Buffy heard Jack shout that he found something. Everyone dropped what they were doing, raced over to where Jack was standing. But stopped, as soon as they entered the room. And saw… the control panel.

"Fried," said Suzie.

Tosh stepped forward, analyzing it, carefully.

"There has to be some part of it still working!" Buffy insisted. "Or jammed or something! Otherwise, we'd be able to get out. Or contact Seo and Ianto."

"And tell them how to actually kill this monster," Jack muttered.

"I'll work on it," Tosh said. She waved the others over, and they all began squinting at it, trying to figure out what was going on, which parts of it were still working, and what they were doing.

On the earpiece, they heard the sound of a car starting.

"I… lost someone… important to me," said Ianto. "Because of you."

A long pause. "You lost…?" Then, with a sudden horrified realization, "The Sphere."

"You brought them," said Ianto. "The Cybermen. The Daleks. All those people — dead. Because of _you_."

An even longer pause. Then, in a quiet voice, "I'm sorry."

"Why?" Ianto demanded. The hint of real, bitter pain in his voice. "Why did you do it? Just… why?!"

"I didn't… I just wanted to…" Hesitation. Then, in a small voice, "I wasn't thinking."

Ianto, when he spoke again, did so with so much passion and anger in his every word… he sounded like he could barely control himself. " _You_ … _weren't_ …?!"

"Have you ever… loved someone," said Seo, "so deeply that you'd do anything to save them? So much that you'd take any risk, any opportunity, do anything at all — if it even just gave you a _chance_ to save their life?"

Ianto said nothing.

"I loved my dad like that," said Seo. "He was… all I had. I just wanted to save him. I just…" Her voice fell into grief and pain. "I miss him so much."

A pause. Then, a heartfelt, "Yes."

"I'm sorry," said Seo. "I really…"

A shriek from Seo, and the splintering of wood, nearby her. The cruel voice of the Judge snarled through the speaker, "Found you."

Then the sound of footsteps, as Seo sprinted away.

"Please get here soon," Seo pleaded with Ianto. "Please."

* * *

Seo raced forward, across the street. She could see that the Judge's power was growing, slowly but steadily. With every person he grabbed, he grew more powerful. But her… he wanted _her_. More than the others. He would always chase her, because he wanted — so badly — to grab her up and look into her eyes as he drained every ounce of compassion from her soul.

"Beautiful," he called to her. "So beautiful in your darkness. So beautiful in your cruelty. Your vengeance."

Seo sprinted across the street, zigzagging between houses and through back alleys, trying, in desperation, to lose him. And… yes! Yes!

Just there, she could see a car pulling up!

Someone stepping out. A youngish man with a black pinstripe suit, brown, combed-back hair, a gauntlet tucked beneath his arm.

Seo sprinted to him, grabbed the gauntlet up, a rush of thanks and thank you so much and you don't know how much this helps already pouring from her lips. Then, with a deep breath, Seo closed her eyes. Slipped the glove onto her right hand.

Felt it connect with her mind. Felt its essence, tingling against her own psychic energy. She coaxed it, brought it forward. Let its energies weave together with her own, surging across and through her with a pulsing yet invisible radiance that echoed through her mind.

A sudden, horrified gasp from Ianto, and Seo shot her eyes open, to discover the Judge in front of her, grabbing up Ianto, his body beginning to alight.

Seo, with every ounce of her strength, swung up her right hand, clenched in a fist, and knocked the Judge away from him.

The Judge flew across the street, slamming into the pavement, cracking the asphalt beneath him. Ianto, nearby, slumped down to the ground, unconscious and mostly uninjured.

Seo shoved her earpiece off her ear. Dropped it on the ground, as she went over to the Judge. She no longer needed it.

"You already use the powers that will cleanse you," the Judge said, peeling himself up from the pavement. "The powers of darkness. You awaken it inside you." He got to his feet, hand outstretched, a determined smile on his face. "But I will cleanse you faster, little beauty. I will rid you of your love. Your guilt. All feeling that lingers in your heart."

He reached out for her.

Seo raised up her hand, parrying his arm with her own, gauntleted one.

Their eyes locked.

"What is that?" asked the Judge, eyeing it curiously. "A gauntlet? You defend yourself with a _forged weapon_?"

He laughed, trying to flip her around by her arm, but she yanked it back and ducked out of the way just in time.

"Forged weapons can't touch me," he informed her.

He yanked for her hair, but Seo jumped. Flipped over his head, imitating a move she'd seen Buffy do, landing on her feet and pivoting around to face him, again, raising up the gauntleted hand as if it were a sword.

"It's not a weapon," said Seo. "It's a resurrection gauntlet. It gives life."

Then she charged at him.

Darting forward, shoving him back against the side of a building, her gauntleted hand pressing deep into his blue chest, her eyes blazing as they met his.

"Forged weapons might not touch you. But _I_ can," she said, through her teeth.

And reached, deep in her mind. Sending the energy across the gauntlet. Straight through, into his twisted, evil little heart.

The gauntlet, humming with more power than it had ever had, before, began to glow in her hands.

The Judge screamed.

"You burn away goodness," said Seo, her voice hard. Pained. "Love. Empathy. Human emotions." She twisted her gauntleted hand, and he writhed beneath her. "But this glove links us through those very emotions. The ones that make you scream." She sent another wave to him.

He tried to free himself, but she held him fast.

"How many have you destroyed?" she demanded. "How many have you massacred? Lives that might have grown, flourished, become special! Feel them — those lives! Those amazing, brilliant lives that you cut short! Feel the guilt from their loss."

"You… drain yourself," the Judge rasped through his anguish. "Your own energies. Your—"

"Jack," said Seo. "Owen. Tosh. Suzie. My mom! My _mom_! You murdered them! Murdered them all! Burned them away to nothing — and how does it feel?" Her eyes grew dark, as she screamed, "How does it feel to lose someone you love?!"

The Judge, in one movement, switched their places, her gauntleted hand never leaving his chest, but his own hand now pressed squarely against her own. Determination in his eyes.

Pain seared through Seo, as she began to writhe, doing everything she could to keep the gauntlet connected with his chest — maintain the link between them.

"If you destroy me," said the Judge, "I destroy you, little beauty. I destroy any ounce of love or mercy within you. Any ounce of sorrow or compassion, any—"

He was cut off, suddenly, as his eyes went wide, and he gasped.

Behind him, Ianto had snuck up, a three-bladed knife raised in his hand, and stabbed the Judge in the back. Raised up the knife, and stabbed again. And again. And again.

The Judge dropped Seo, staggering. Shocked.

"Impossible," he gasped. Coughing up blood, dropping to the ground. "No… weapon… forged…"

"Can kill you as a demon," said Seo. Panting for breath, struggling forward. "But… I… used the glove. Resurrected the memory of those people you absorbed and burned. Gave… you… a splash of humanity."

The Judge began to shake, as, searing out from the places where Ianto had stabbed him, his body began to smoke. Heat up…

"Beautiful," he said to Seo, as his body burst into flames. "You have such… beautiful… cruelty. Striving to make… your enemies… suffer before the end."

And then, in one final cry of anguish, his body vaporized, burning away into nothing but a pile of ash.

For a few seconds, no one said anything. Both Seo and Ianto just staring at where the Judge had once been. Where he had burned away before their eyes.

Then, from behind them, a voice Seo never thought she'd hear again… Mom's voice…

"Seo!"

Seo spun around, tears in her eyes, as she saw Mom, there, racing forward, rocket launcher in hand, determination and love on her face, flooding through every cell of her body.

And behind her… were the others.

Jack, Tosh, Owen, Suzie.

Everyone Seo had thought was dead. Everyone Seo had thought had been killed.

It was enough to let Seo's mind unwrap from the psychic clutch of the gauntlet. Disengage, undo all the locks that could so easily trap a normal human mind, let herself slip free from its influence.

She dropped it to the ground, and rushed forward, catching up Mom in a tight hug. Never wanting to let her go.

Buffy hugged her just as tight, back. Letting the rocket launcher fall from her hands.

Suzie grabbed up the resurrection glove, seizing the accompanying triple bladed sword from Ianto. Then, turning on Seo, anger racing through her, waved the gauntlet in front of her face. "This," she hissed, "is _not_ a toy. Do you understand? It's _mine_."

Seo gave her a half smile and a shrug. Then turned to Ianto, who was shuffling, awkwardly, not far away. Went up to him, extending a hand to shake.

"Thank you for saving my life," she said. Then, with a small blush, "I… misjudged you."

Ianto looked into her eyes. Smiled. Shook her hand.

"Me too," he said.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... I looked over "the Prophecy of Harkness", and decided that it needed more work than I'd thought, before. Which means I'm just going to skip it, and move on to the next story in the series, which comes after "Judgment", called "A Scooby of Her Own." That story is wonderful. It does involve mostly original characters, so I'll include a preview at the bottom of this story, just so you'll be guaranteed to know that it's a good story, despite not knowing the characters.
> 
> Seo acts very Doctor in that story, or at least, I think so.
> 
> But with her own unique twist to it.
> 
> In the meantime, enjoy the tail end of "Judgment"!

"Looks like Ianto and Seo are not going to be a problem," said Jack, with a grin, seeing the two of them talking together, in hushed voices, in the kitchen. His grin fell, a little, looking over at Buffy. She seemed drained, a little frazzled and frantic. "You all right?"

Buffy sighed, hand against her head. "I've… been thinking," she said. "Through this whole adventure. Thinking… pretty hard."

Jack nodded.

"Just before I came here, I… got an offer," Buffy confessed to him. "A job offer. Apparently, Giles has been talking me up at his work, and… it went up and up the ladder… and… I guess Saxon heard it. Because I've been offered this… super high position. Working directly under Saxon, himself. In charge of all sorts of military alien-fighting things." She laughed. "I've been headhunted. By… Harold Saxon!"

Jack clapped her on the back. "Hey, good going! Top of the chain!"

"Yeah, it's kind of a big deal," Buffy agreed. "Great money. In London, so no three hour commute. And, you know, it's still major alien invasion central, there, so they probably need me."

Jack tried to smother his own sorrow at losing her deep down inside. This was so clearly the chance of a lifetime — it was no wonder she was jumping on it. Maybe… he'd still see her, every so often. If he was lucky. Get a chance to catch up with her.

"Well, we'll miss you, here," said Jack. "But I know you'll do great. Saxon's lucky to get you. And—"

"I've decided to turn it down," Buffy told him.

Jack stared at her. For a few moments, a little dumbfounded. Then seemed to understand, and nodded. "You… don't like politics."

(She'd told him, once before, that politicians gave her 'serious Mayor flashbacks.' Whatever that meant.)

Buffy sighed, a thoughtful expression still fixed on her face. Then her eyes flicked over to Jack, and she raised her eyebrows. The hint of a smile tugging at her lips. "It's not about how I feel. It's about… her," said Buffy. Her eyes fixed back on Seo, in the kitchen. A deep love spreading through her as she regarded her daughter, still talking with Ianto. "You're… a good influence on her, Jack. That means a lot to me. Really. _A lot_."

Jack was touched.

Buffy turned on him. A cringe on her face. "Except… I kind of told Seo that you'd ground her for a few centuries, after I'm dead and buried, if she did something stupid. That's… okay, right? I mean, I know it's not part of the Torchwood Child Care Package, but…"

Jack laughed. "Three centuries for opening the rift. Two for ending the world." He winked. "Count on me."

Buffy's face broke into a smile. "Thanks."

Jack turned back to the kitchen. "Good kid you got, there," he told her. His eyes fixed on Seo and Ianto. Okay, if he was going to be honest — not Seo so much. "Definitely like her taste in people."

Buffy was about to say something to this, when Suzie pushed past them, in a huff, gauntlet under her arm. She burst into the kitchen area, shouting, waving the gauntlet in their faces.

"Suzie's never going to let Seo hear the end of this," Buffy sighed.

"Nope," Jack agreed.

* * *

Seo leaned over her cup of coffee, a somber expression on her face, as she spoke to Ianto. Alone. In the kitchen.

"Was it… Lisa?" she asked. "That you lost?"

Ianto didn't answer. Didn't have to.

"She… tried to help me," Seo offered. "When I first arrived at Torchwood London. She was the only one who ever tried to help, that whole time." She looked down at the coffee, swirling it around. "I'm sorry. Really. For my part in what happened. I wish…" She swallowed. "I wish there was something I could do."

For a few moments, neither said anything.

"About… what you told me," Ianto ventured, at last. "Doing anything to save someone. Taking any risk. I… I mean, Lisa… she's…"

But that was when Suzie barged into the room, shouting at Seo for screwing up her resurrection gauntlet, because it was now all mis-calibrated, and what the hell was she thinking — you don't shove it on someone's chest, you're supposed to put it behind their head, and Seo had pumped way too much psychic energy into it, anyways, and…!

Seo tried to tune her out.

But when she looked back at Ianto, she discovered he'd gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next time, in The Child of Balime: "A Scooby of Her Own."  
> .  
>  _The problem wasn't that Alison's parents were suddenly rich._  
>  _It was that, for some reason, they believed this made them suddenly posh._  
>  _The news had come completely unexpectedly. One of their distant relatives, on Alison's mother's side, had been an insanely rich old American bachelor, who was planning to leave his fortune to his favorite dog. Then, after one night, when he'd started chatting up some attractive, dashing blond girl, who looked about 50 years younger than himself, he apparently had a sudden change of heart, and had altered his will. Selecting one of his relatives — seemingly at random — and leaving his entire fortune to her._  
>  _Later that night, he'd had a heart attack. And died._  
>  _Alison's mum had been the sole beneficiary of the old bachelor's entire fortune._  
>  _Which meant that Alison's parents had become extremely rich. Overnight. For no apparent reason other than pure dumb luck._  
>  _The next morning, they put their house up for sale. And moved to London._  
>  _"We are a respectable family, now," Alison's dad had explained to her, when they were house-hunting in London. "And a respectable, upper-class family requires a respectable, upper-class home."_  
>  _"Dad," Alison reminded him, "you work in sewage management."_  
>  _They bought a six bedroom house in Chelsea Park Gardens, complete with gabled windows and ivy lining the brickwork and potted trees outside the front door. It was more the kind of house you'd buy to impress someone than the kind you'd actually want to live in._  
>  _"And this room," Alison's mum explained, "is the movie theater room. And when you turn out the lights…" She did so, and pointed at the ceiling, where tiny pinprick light bulbs flickered. "See? They look like stars!"_  
>  _"Wouldn't that be really annoying, if you're watching a movie?" Alison asked._  
>  _But no one paid much attention to her. Particularly not Alison's mum or dad. They were busily spending their newly gained money, trying to join country clubs and show off to the neighbors, trying to create a brand new life for themselves._  
>  _"Not for ourselves," Mum told Alison. "For you and David. Our children. We're giving you a future you never thought you could have."_    
>  _"A future… as a snooty posh kid," Alison checked._  
>  _"Think of it as an opportunity," said Dad. "A chance to pursue whatever interest you like, and not need to worry, financially."_  
>  _Alison nodded, slowly. Yeah. Sure she wouldn't._  
>  _Because, apparently, her parents now believed that it rained hundred pound notes on Sundays and, therefore, there was no point in saving anything for the future._  
>  _"David appreciates our spending policies," Mum pointed out. She smiled down at him, now surrounded by nice, shiny new toys. "Look at how happy he is."_  
>  _"So… we're taking financial advice," Alison clarified, "from my five year old baby brother." She sighed. "Course. That makes perfect sense, Mum."_  
>  _The thing her parents didn't seem to realize was — Alison didn't really want money. Didn't want to be the posh kid at school with the new designer jackets and perfectly styled hair._  
>  _She wanted… oh, she didn't even know!_  
>  _"Well, we can't buy it for you if you don't know what it is," Dad told her._  
>  _"It's not something you can buy, Dad," Alison replied._  
>  _It was… just… this feeling Alison got, when she was wandering around on the streets. Like… there had to be something more than this. Had to be something else to life other than money or 'high-society' or school or work or any of that!_  
>  _She wanted the more. She wanted the purpose. A larger goal. A greater challenge._  
>  _Her parents certainly didn't understand that. At all._  
>  _"But what do you_ really _want for your future, Alison?" Mum asked. "Career-wise. You'll be off at university in a year. You have to begin planning ahead."_  
>  _"Well," Alison said, "I_ was _planning to live in a tent on the M4, selling gourds to passing motorists. But now that we've moved into Posh-town, London, I've completely changed my life goals and am now striving to become Prime Minister of Great Britain."_  
>  _Mum gave her a stern look._  
>  _"That," Alison continued. "Or to work in sewage management. I honestly can't decide."_


End file.
